Nat'l Kite Festival begins

An eagle kite dominates the Cox's Bazar sky yesterday, the first day of the National Kite Festival at the tourist resort.Photo: Focus Bangla

Although the capital and most districts of the country were under the spell of un-seasonal rain making the winter bitter, tourists in sunny Cox's Bazar yesterday enjoyed the first day of the National Kite Festival with plenty of cheer.
For the visitors, the most favourite tourist resort in the country became an added attraction as about 300 huge, brightly hued and sometimes strange kites took wings over the Bay of Bengal and its silvery beach.
After passing through the special gate -- an 80-foot long dragon -- the big crowd at the Sugandha beach were in for a rare treat as they watched in awe, gulls and eagles take flight as if they were real birds.
There were other types of kites resembling the animal world such as kingfisher, dragon, dolphin, octopus, butterfly, frog, snake, dragonfly, sport kites like delta, box and stunt, Santa Claus, aeroplane and ghostly ones added more colour to the spectacle.
Earlier, Shabnam Shehnaz Chowdhury, director of sponsors Protiti Pharmaceuticals, declared the two-day event open. Bangladesh Kite Federation president and general secretary DR AR Khan and Shahjahan Mridha Benu were also present.
"This is different because it is a national festival under the auspices of the federation. Although there are zonal festivals, this is the first time we are organising this at a national level," said federation secretary Shahjahan Mridha.
"We are trying to educate people about the international rules of kite flying as we want to make the festival a competition next year," he added.
The festival will conclude today.